Public Comment Period Open For Revised 'Waters Of The U.S.' Rule

By Bret Jaspers
Published: Thursday, February 14, 2019 - 4:39pm
Updated: Thursday, February 14, 2019 - 4:46pm

The public comment period is now open for the revised “Waters of the United States” rule. It would redefine what kind of waterways the Clean Water Act can regulate.

The revised rule scales back a decision from the Obama Administration and says the federal government does not have jurisdiction over streams called “ephemeral,” meaning they flow because there was recent rain.

That includes many miles of desert washes in Arizona.

The change would exclude those areas from regulation under the federal Clean Water Act. If the rule goes into effect, states could then choose to regulate — or not regulate — pollution or development in ephemeral streams.

The rule was published in the Federal Register on Thursday. That starts a 60-day comment period that ends on April 15. People can submit a comment through regulations.dot.gov.

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